De Blasio Taps Goldman Sachs Executive as Deputy Mayor

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio at a news conference to appoint Laura Santucci, right, as his chief of staff and Alicia Glen, center as his deputy mayor of housing and economic development.

By Laura Kusisto, Justin Baer and Mara Gay

UPDATED | Alicia Glen, head of Goldman Sachs’s urban investment group, was appointed deputy mayor for housing and economic development.

At Goldman Sachs, Ms. Glen oversaw the firm’s financing of the Citi Bike program as well as billions of dollars of projects in low-income neighborhoods. Previously, Ms. Glen worked as assistant commissioner for housing finance at the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development from 1998 to 2002.

At a news conference announcing her appointment, Mr. de Blasio called her a “a strong and forceful champion for fighting inequality”

For the de Blasio administration it is perhaps an unusual choice to pluck someone from a high-profile and often-criticized financial institution. But the choice of a woman would diversify the top ranks of his administration.

Ms. Glen said, that “the tale of two cities is not OK. It is not OK for us to live in this city and to tolerate the inequality.” She discussed improving the film, technology, advanced manufacturing and light industrial industries in the city, and “about making smart, strategic investments to spur job creation.”

Ms. Glen said she supports Mr. de Blasio’s plan to tax high-income earners to fund universal pre-kindergarten programs — and said she believes her colleagues at Goldman would also support it.

She said she broke down the cost of the plan for someone making $750,000 a year. “I’m a banker so I did the math, and that’s about $3.50 a day, and that’s a latte,” Ms. Glen said.

Ms. Glen’s appointment to a prominent post in the nation’s largest city may be a sign the political backlash against Goldman has faded in the years since the financial crisis. Before the crisis, U.S. presidents and other elected officials had turned frequently to Goldman executives to fill out cabinet positions and advisory roles. But the firm’s actions during the crisis drew harsh criticism. Now, as Wall Street’s relationship with Washington improves, Goldman employees with aspirations in government may find the path to their appointment easier.

A number of people in the development community said it is early to tell whether Ms. Glen would prove a good choice because she has little experience in such a high-profile and challenging position.

Mr. de Blasio also named Laura Santucci as his chief of staff.

“It’s an honor of a lifetime to assume this role,” Ms. Santucci said.

Corrections & Amplifications: Alicia Glen, who New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio appointed as deputy mayor on Monday, Dec. 23, said that Mr. De Blasio’s plan to tax high-income earners in order to fund universal pre-kindergarten would cost someone who makes about $750,000 a year about $3.50 a day. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that number was $3.57 each day.